Nostrand Avenue Line (surface)

B44 / B44 Select Bus Service
Nostrand Avenue Line
Overview
System	MTA Regional Bus Operations
Operator	New York City Transit Authority
Garage	Flatbush Depot
Vehicle	B44: Nova Bus RTS-06 Orion VII Next Generation New Flyer XD40 Xcelsior B44 SBS: Nova Bus LFS articulated
Livery	B44 SBS: Select Bus Service
Began service	1870 (trolley line) 1951 (bus service) 1995 (Limited Stop service) 2013 (B44 SBS)
Route
Locale	Brooklyn
Start	Williamsburg Bridge Plaza Bus Terminal (full route) Williamsburg – Flushing Avenue (daytime local terminus; short runs)
Via	Nostrand Avenue, Bedford Avenue / Rogers Avenue or New York Avenue (southbound only)
End	Sheepshead Bay: Avenue U and Nostrand Avenue (short runs) Emmons Avenue and Nostrand Avenue (late night terminus)[note 1] Knapp Street and Emmons Avenue (full route)
Length	9.3 miles (15.0 km)[1]
Service
Operates	24 hours (B44 Local)[note 1][note 2][2][3]
Daily ridership	11,869,056 (2015)[4]
Fare	$2.75 (MetroCard or coins)
Cash	Coins only (exact change required)
Transfers	Yes
Timetable	B44 B44 SBS
Route map Legend Knapp St–Shore Pky  B44  SBS  southern terminus 3 local stops Ford St–Emmons Av Brigham St–Shore Pky Brigham St–Emmons Av Coyle St–Shore Pky Brown St–Emmons Av Brown St–Shore Pky Nostrand Av–Emmons Av  B44  late night southern terminus Nostrand Av–Shore Pky 3 local stops Voorhies Av Avenue Z Avenue Y Avenue X Avenue W Avenue V Avenue U 8 local stops Avenue T     Fillmore Av Avenue S Avenue R Gerritsen Av Quentin Rd Avenue P Marine Pky Kings Hwy 6 local stops Avenue N     Avenue M Avenue L Avenue K Avenue J Avenue I Flatbush Av 4 local stops Glenwood Rd Farragut Rd / Nostrand Av New York Av / Farragut Rd Foster Av Avenue D / Newark Av 4 local stops Clarendon Rd Beverly Rd Tilden Av Snyder Av Church Av Linden Blvd Lenox Rd Clarkson Av 4 local stops Winthrop St Fenimore St Midwood St East New York Av Empire Blvd 4 local stops Montgomery St Carroll St Union St Eastern Pky St Johns Pl 5 local stops Sterling Pl     Prospect Pl Bergen St Pacific St Atlantic Av Fulton St / New York Av Fulton St / Nostrand Av Fulton St / Bedford Av Hancock St Putnam Av Gates Av Greene Av Lafayette / DeKalb Avs 3 local stops Willoughby Av Myrtle Av Park Av Flushing Av  B44  northern terminus Hewes St Taylor / Wilson Sts Williamsburg Bridge Plaza  B44 SBS  northern terminus  B44  late night northern terminus ← B43 ← Bx41 SBS (by borough) ← Bx41 SBS (by route number)  {{{system_nav}}}  B45 → B46 SBS → Q44 SBS →

The Nostrand Avenue Line is a public transit line in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, running mostly along Nostrand Avenue, as well as northbound on Rogers Avenue or New York Avenue and Bedford Avenue (as part of a one-way pair), between Sheepshead Bay and Williamsburg. Originally a streetcar line, it is now the B44 bus route, operated by the New York City Transit Authority.

Route description and service

The B44 starts at the Williamsburg Plaza Bus Terminal in Williamsburg. It then turns onto Robeling Street and turns south onto Bedford Avenue (northbound) or Lee Avenue (southbound), making only two stops to Flushing Avenue. At Flushing Avenue, Lee Avenue becomes Nostrand Avenue ad continues down Nostrand and Bedford Avenues to Fulton Street.

At Fulton Street, southbound buses remain on Nostrand Avenue while northbound buses take two routes: the local route shifts to New York Avenue, while Select Bus Service buses remain on Bedford Avenue, which becomes Rogers Avenue at Dean Street (this route is parallel to the B49). Once it leaves Fulton Street, the B44 Local, SBS and B49 travel down their streets through the neighborhoods of Crown Heights and Flatbush, parallel to the IRT Nostrand Avenue Line south of Eastern Parkway, until Foster Avenue, where the B49 heads west along Foster Avenue to head to Ocean Avenue. At Farragut Rd, the northbound B44 Local shifts back to Nostrand Avenue, as two way traffic resumes.

At Flatbush Avenue, the northbound B44 SBS runs along Flatbush Avenue to Nostrand Avenue to meet up with the B44 Local at the Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College station. Then the line continues down Nostrand in Midwood to Avenue U, where it meets up with the B36. At this point, now in Sheepshead Bay, the B36 and B44 continue down Nostrand Avenue to Avenue Z, where the B36 heads west along Avenue Z to Coney Island. The B44, meanwhile continues down Nostrand Avenue and turns east along Shore Pkwy (southbound) or Emmons Avenue (northbound), where it meets the B4 bus route and continues to Knapp Street. Buses layover on Shore Parkway and re-enter service on Knapp Street.

During daytime hours, the B44 Local operates between Sheepshead Bay and Flushing Avenue, with some buses starting at Avenue U. SBS buses operate between Knapp Street and Williamsburg and provide all daytime B44 service north of Flushing Avenue. Additional SBS buses operate between Avenue U and Flushing Avenue. During late nights, when the SBS isn't running, the B44 operates the full route, but terminates at Emmons Avenue and Nostrand Avenue.

Prior to SBS implementation in 2013, there was local service to Williamsburg Bridge Plaza and the local terminated at Avenue U. South of that point, the Limited made all stops in Sheepshead Bay and Williamsburg. While there is B36 service providing local service south of Avenue U after the conversion, the B44 in Williamsburg now operates like a limited stop equivalent, but with no daytime local service in that section. For the first few months, the SBS ran two overlapping services: From Flushing Avenue to Knapp Street, and from Williamsburg to Avenue U. This was changed in May 2014. with the Flushing Avenue trips terminatng at Avenue U and Williamsburg buses going to Knapp Street, providing a direct ride along the full route without changing buses.

The B44 bus route acts as a subway feeder connecting passengers from several subway routes that intersect the B44, as well as connects neighborhood destinations such as Brooklyn College, Kings County Medical Center, and the Nostrand Avenue Retail corridor.^[5]

The B44 is the third highest ridership bus in Brooklyn, and the sixth highest in all of New York City. The bus, for a portion of its route, parallels the IRT Nostrand Avenue Line (2 5 trains), and the majority of the B44 route allows for 300,000 people who live within 0.25 miles (0.40 km) of the service to have north-south connectivity.^[5]

Select Bus Service stops

History

A map showing the B44 SBS (in light blue) with rail connections.

Streetcar line

The northern terminal of the bus route, and the former terminal of the streetcar line, the Williamsburg Bridge Plaza Bus Terminal.

The Williamsburgh and Flatbush Railroad was chartered in 1868,^[6] and opened in 1870 from the Broadway Ferry in Williamsburg south over the Brooklyn City Rail Road's Greenpoint Line on Kent Avenue and Classon Avenue, east on its Flushing Avenue Line on Flushing Avenue, and south on Nostrand Avenue to Flatbush. The charter allowed them to use Lee Avenue instead from Williamsburg, but residents along that street opposed its use.^[7] Tracks were however placed in Lee Avenue in early 1873,^[8] and opened soon after, running from the Broadway Ferry east over the Broadway Railroad's Broadway Line on Broadway and south on Driggs Avenue and Lee Avenue.

An extension from Empire Boulevard south to the Flatbush Avenue Line opened on July 15, 1895, after some delay, and the Holy Cross Cemetery Line was moved to a branch of the line along Tilden Avenue.^[9][10][11] The line eventually reached Avenue U in Sheepshead Bay.^[12]

Effective 5 am, December 5, 1948, the line was cut back from Essex Street on the Manhattan side of the Williamsburg Bridge to the Williamsburg Bridge Plaza in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Service across the bridge was replaced with a transfer to the new B39 bus route.^[13][14][15]

Local and limited bus service

Buses were substituted for streetcars on April 1, 1951;^[12] the B44 bus now continues south past Avenue U into Sheepshead Bay, some B44 buses now go as far as Emmons Avenue and Knapp Street near the foot of Sheepshead Bay.^[16][17]

Limited-stop service was added on September 10, 1995.^[18]

Select Bus Service

Final design work for the B44 SBS began in fall 2011, and construction south of Atlantic Avenue occurred between spring and fall 2013, including the repaving of the street, the installation of bus lanes, the construction of bus bulbs and neckdowns, and bus lane signs.^[5] The construction of the designated bus lanes for the service required the removal of the surface line's rails, which had been previously paved over.^[17]

Effective November 17, 2013, the B44 Limited service was converted to Select Bus Service (SBS), joining other SBS routes in New York City: the M15 and M34 in Manhattan and the Bx12 and Bx41 in the Bronx. This is the first SBS route in Brooklyn, and it is the fifth and final Phase I SBS route to be implemented.^[5] The service continues to operate between Williamsburg Bridge Plaza (also known as Washington Plaza) and Sheepshead Bay. Southbound SBS service operates on Nostrand Avenue and northbound on Rogers Avenue, north of Flatbush Avenue. Local B44 service continues on Nostrand Avenue and New York Avenue.^[16][17][19] The B44 and the B44 Select Bus Service are based out of Flatbush Bus Depot near Marine Park and Kings Plaza.

Bus stops were consolidated, with several of the lesser used stops, on the northern and southern portions of the route changed from Limited to local. Off-board fare collection was installed, significantly reducing the amount of time it takes for buses to spend at bus stops. Bus lanes were implemented on 9.6 miles along both directions of the route, covering over half of the route. Northbound buses were rerouted from New York Avenue to Rogers Avenue. This allowed for the length of the northbound route to be decreased, and it benefitted the northbound route by putting it on a wider street with multiple traffic lanes. B44 local service was kept on New York Avenue to continue serving passengers along that street. 62-foot long, 3-door buses were put into service on the route, replacing the 40-foot long, 2-door buses that previously served the B44 Limited. The B44 local continued to use the 40-foot long buses. Bus bulbs with new bus shelters and greenery were also installed. Bus bulbs were installed, allowing for more room for people to wait, allowing for the instillation of bus shelters and greenery, and allowing bus to pull straight in and out of stations without pulling over. Resulting form the installation of bus bulbs or neckdowns, which shorten the crossing distances, traffic injuries along the corridor were reduced by 37%.^[5]

Two stops were added to the B44 SBS, at Gates Avenue and Avenue L, because of strong public feedback, and B44 local service was increased after the implementation of the B44 SBS. Real time information screens are being added to bus stops along the route.^[5]

As a result of the conversion to SBS, travel times decreased between 15-31% compared to the B44 Limited. In addition, ridership along the B44 SBS increased 10% from 2014 to 2015, going against the 1% decline in overall Brooklyn ridership during the same time frame.^[5]

Notes

References

See also

• Utica and Reid Avenues Line (B46)
• Flatbush Avenue Line (surface) (B41)
• Ralph Avenue Line (B47)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to B44 (New York City bus).

• B44 Nostrand Avenue SBS − mta.info
• Nostrand Avenue-Rogers Avenue Select Bus Service − NYCDOT
• B44 SBS on Nostrand Avenue Progress Report − NYCDOT

Bus routes in Brooklyn
B1 B2 B3 B4 B6 B7 B8 B9 B11 B12 B13 B14 B15 B16 B17 B20 B23 B24 B25 B26 B31 B32 B35 B36 B37 B38 B41 B42 B43 B44 B45 B46 B47 B48 B49 B52 B54 B57 B60 B61 B62 B63 B64 B65 B67 B68 B69 B70 B74 B82 B83 B84 B100 B103 B110

Companies and predecessors of the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation
Elevated Railroads and Subways	Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad Brooklyn Elevated Railroad Union Elevated Railroad Brooklyn, Flatbush and Coney Island Railway Brooklyn and Rockaway Beach Railroad/Canarsie Railroad Kings County Elevated Railway Brooklyn, Bath and West End Railroad New York and Sea Beach Railway New York Consolidated Railroad New York Rapid Transit Corporation Sea View Railroad
Streetcars	Atlantic Avenue Railroad BQT Brooklyn City Railroad Brooklyn City, Hunterspoint & Prospect Park Brooklyn City & Newtown Brooklyn Heights Railroad Bridge Operating Company (BRT - NYR) Broadway Ferry & Metropolitan Avenue Brooklyn & North River (3rd Ave - NYR - BRT) Brooklyn, Queens & Suburban Bushwick Railroad Coney Island & Brooklyn Coney Island, Fort Hamilton & Brooklyn Coney Island & Gravesend DeKalb Avenue & North Brooklyn East River & Atlantic Ocean Grand Street, Prospect Park & Flatbush Grand Street and Newtown Greenpoint and Williamsburgh Hunter's Point & Prospect Park Jamaica & Brooklyn Long Island Traction Company Nassau Railroad Nassau Electric Railroad Prospect Park & Coney Island Prospect Park & South Brooklyn Red Hook light rail South Brooklyn Railway South Brooklyn Street Railway Union Railroad Williamsburgh & Flatbush Yates Avenue & Flatbush
Buses	BQT Brooklyn Bus
Streetcar lists	Brooklyn Manhattan Queens
Other	Carhouses New York City Bus garages MTA Bus garages Financing, advertising, real estate, etc. Broadway Subway and Home Borough Car Advertising Company Transit Development Company

Select Bus Service
Current routes	B44 SBS B46 SBS Bx12 SBS Bx41 SBS M15 SBS M23 SBS M34 SBS M34A SBS M60 SBS M86 SBS Q44 SBS Q70 SBS S79 SBS
Future routes	Bx6 M79 Q25 Q52 Q53